CD Reviews: Great Composers: Georges Delerue and Pollock
Great Composers: Georges Delerue *****
GEORGES DELERUE
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 223 2
Disc One: 13 tracks - 77:06 Disc Two: 11 tracks - 76:30
As part of their ongoing Great Composers series, Varèse Sarabande
has released a two-disc set of the late Georges Delerue's film scores.
The bad news is that the label has essentially culled most of its material
from a series of Varèse Sarabande CDs released in the early '90s
called Georges Delerue: The London Sessions, three CDs worth of
material either from the original soundtrack or especially conducted versions
by Delerue himself. Though mostly out of print, Delerue fans have had these
CDs in their collection from the beginning, so this new release is sort
of a disappointment, as so many of his scores have yet to be released in
CD form (in particular, the Oscar nominated Julia). In order to make way
for some of his later scores, a couple of tracks from the three-CD set
are even missing (like True Confessions and Salvador), which
means that newer Delerue fans who missed the earlier releases will be disappointed
not to have these gems as part of the new collection.
OK, griping session over. Let's focus on the good...and in every other
way, this two-CD set is beyond words. Instead of buying the three London
Session CDs, it is now possible to have all this great music on one collection
(at the single CD price). This is a blessing, especially for the casual
Delerue fan. It's sad to see so many bad movies on Delerue's resume with
many memory-taxing titles like A Little Sex and Man Trouble,which
were forgettable films. Still, Delerue was always professional, and each
of his scores offers something beautiful. I remember being dragged to see
a silly late '80s Ally Sheedy comedy called Maid to Order; when
I saw Delerue's name during the opening credits, I was saddened to think
he had to score such a movie... but I was also glad that my moviegoing
experience would not be a total waste. And, it wasn't. His score for Maid
to Order was whimsical and light, befitting the fractured fairy tale.
Delerue did, however, score respectable movies, and he received five
Academy Award nominations. Highlights from this album include George Cukor's
Rich and Famous, a pseudo-serious movie starring Jacqueline Bisset
and Candice Bergen as rival authors, has become an underground camp classic
("Proust was a homosexual and a Jew!") Delerue, however, scored the movie
as if the filmmakers reached new heights of sophistication, using a beautiful
piano melody bathed by gorgeous orchestral accompaniment. Never released,
the music can finally be heard and appreciated, although the previously
released coda on Vol. 1 was unfortunately left off the new CD.
Delerue received his last Oscar nomination for another chick flick,
the somber, but wildly over-the-top Agnes of God, Norman Jewison's
film about a crime investigation involving a nun who kills her baby. As
much as I love quippy Mother Superior movies (Anne Bancroft does the honors
here), the only redeeming factors in this one were the creepy performance
by Meg Tilly as the nun, and Delerue's 100% reverential score which incorporated
a female choir. The suite starts with the voices and then segues into the
main theme played by solo flute (an Delerue favorite). Everything comes
together in the main body of the of the10-minute suite with full orchestra
and voices. Although the entirety of this score is not quite this tonal,
this suite highlights Delerue's greatest strength: melody.
Delerue and director Bruce Beresford have collaborated on many films,
including Crimes of the Heart and Rich in Love, the composer's
last score. For the epic drama Black Robe, Delerue not only delivered
a gorgeous score, but also a surprising choral track. I remember first
hearing the choral piece on a compilation CD, and I was disappointed that
they decided to sample a source cue instead of Delerue music -- until I
realized Delerue composed the choral track as well. I believe this is Delerue's
ultimate score; his most experimental, his most challenging and his most
simple -- a triumph in every way. This is the work of a veteran composer
rediscovering himself and his craft.
This review barely even touches on the many other riches in this collection.
From the unused music from Something Wicked This Way Comes (which
would eventually be scored by James Horner) to Platoon (the theme
from which is every bit as heartbreaking as Barber's Adagio for Strings,
which Oliver Stone opted to use instead), to his homage to Francois Truffaut,
this two-and-one-half-hour collection is a historical document of a great
composer. There seems to be a sudden new interest in Delerue, with recent
re-releases of his Day of the Dolphin and Anne of a Thousand
Days scores. If the only Delerue you have is his contribution to the
Amazing Stories CD, you are in for a treat with this collection.
This is an essential album in every serious film score lover's library.
-- Cary Wong
Pollock ****
JEFF BEAL
Unitone Recordings 025 201
17 tracks - 44:33
Pollock was a labor of love for actor/director Ed Harris; he
supposedly worked on this project for 10 years before it finally made it
to the big screen. The film is a realistic biography of American abstract
expressionistic artist Jackson Pollock (best known for his drip paintings).
Harris threw himself so completely into the role he was able to recreate
a lot of Pollock's work (or at least style) on screen. And Marcia Gay Harden
surprised with her Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for her portrayal
of Pollock's wife, Lee Krasner, who more or less sacrificed her art for
the sake of Pollock's.
Pollock doesn't have opening titles, so as I watched the film,
I did not have any preconceived notion as to what the score of was going
to sound like -- and I didn't know who the composer was. During the more
showy sections of the score, especially when Pollock is painting, I was
convinced the composer was Cliff Martinez, since a lot of the music reminded
me of the style and technique he incorporated in his score for Steven Soderbergh's
King of the Hill. The slower passages, however, reminded me of Thomas
Newman and Mark Isham. By the end of the movie, I was impressed with the
score, and was anxious to find out who composed this modern but strongly
melodic material. When Jeff Beal's name came up, I was stumped.
Beal, as it turns out, is a jazz composer and accomplished trumpeter
who has written scores for many TV movies including the acclaimed The
Passion of Ayn Rand. This is his debut soundtrack CD (although it is
noted that he played trumpet and synthesizer on the CD John Williams
conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy). His jazz background
is evident in Pollock, where there is also a touch of minimalism.
Some of his best moments are his fast cues, which like Pollock himself,
seem to feed on the excitement generated by creativity. "Alone in a Crowd"
is a joyful and refreshing cue. The beautiful "Stroke of Genius" starts
off slowly with a mournful horn, but as Pollock starts to paint the music
bursts into vibrant strings, followed by piano, percussion and a host of
other instruments. This cue is inspiring without being intrusive in the
scene. The virtuoso piano cue, "Art of this Century" is also interesting
because Beal applies modern music to comment on the modern art world.
The kinetic cues are nicely balanced by the more quiet cues detailing
Pollock's life in Long Island. Beal incorporates a lot of reflective string
passages as well as piano, as in "A Letter from Lee." Rounding out the
CD are three curious tracks: One is a original song by one of my least
favorite singers, Tom Waits, called "The World Keeps Turning." It does
work well in the context in the movie, as the loneliness in his voice mirrors
the loneliness of Pollock's artistic drive. The CD ends with two tracks
that are marked as remixes. I expected something akin to those laughable
dance remixes of Close Encounters or The Deep, but as it
turns out, they are just more spirited renditions of some of the main themes.
This is a fine score to introduce the world to a new, worthy composer.
As Krasner said to Pollock after seeing his first splatter painting, Beal's
music "has cracked it wide open." -- Cary Wong
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